5 Things Online Shopping Companies Should Stop Doing

I, like most people nowadays, love shopping online. I don’t have to waste money on gas. I don’t have to stand in long lines, or hear screaming kids in the store. My selection is larger when I’m shopping online. It’s also easier to find deals when shopping online.

That said, there are definitely several things that I don’t like about the online shopping experience. There are a few things that certain (sometimes many) online shopping companies do that can really start to irritate.
5 Things I Wish Online Shopping Companies Would Stop Doing.

1. Chat popup.

Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand the “live chat” option that some online shopping companies have. I even appreciate it. I’ve used it several times. But I know when I have a question. If I have one, I will ask it. If I don’t, I won’t. It’s as simple as that. Them forcing an intrusive, annoying popup in my face in the middle of my shopping is not going to entice me to ask them a question. It just gets in the way.

What I wish they’d do instead: Offer an instant chat option, and make it easy for me to locate. But don’t push it on me.

2. Unrelated suggested items.

Again, I completely get the idea behind this. It is smart marketing to show a shopper other options that they may be interested in. And again, this is also something I appreciate… when it’s done right. If the company is actually showing me other items that relate to what I am purchasing, that is great. But when they throw up images of items that are completely unrelated to anything I am shopping for, that doesn’t do me (or them) any good. It’s just a distraction.

What I wish they’d do instead: Only show me suggested items if they actually relate to the item I am purchasing.

3. Charging for shipping.

I am stubborn and I think that shipping should be free. Call it selfish, but I think that the company can more easily afford to take on those shipping costs. So for me, I am always more eager to buy from a company who agrees with me in that area.

Even if a company isn’t willing to offer free shipping, I find it significantly worse when they choose to charge large amounts for shipping costs. If I suspect that a company is actually going to make money off of my shipping costs, you better believe I am going to take my business elsewhere.

What I wish they’d do instead: Offer free shipping on every order!

4. Making it difficult to return items.

One of the few downsides to shopping online is that it can sometimes be difficult to return items. Again, this is something that some sites are great at (free returns, send me a return label with all purchases, etc), and some totally miss the mark. When companies make it difficult to return items, it shows me that they have a lack of customer service. And it makes me think twice before purchasing from them.

What I wish they’d do instead: Have a free, simple to use, customer-service based return policy.

5. Final sales.

Now this one is even worse! It’s bad enough when companies make it difficult for me to return items. But it’s even worse when they don’t give me the option at all. People need to have the option to return items they’ve purchased online. Shopping online is very different than shopping in a store: you can’t feel the item, try it on, see how it works, see if it’s the right color, etc when you are shopping online. So it is very important for companies to always provide that option to their customers.

What I wish they’d do instead: Let customers return any (unused) product they’ve purchased from your store. It’s just good customer service.

Online shopping can be a great experience… if you’re shopping with the right companies. As more consumers are taking their business to the online market, more companies are pushing to do whatever they can to get these online shoppers to shop with them. Hopefully as the popularity of online shopping continues to grow, these online retailers will continue to improve their online shopping options and shopper experience.

Nicole is a content editor for StarReviews.com, where she covers online shopping tips and tricks.